Like so many people this political season, I have been fortunate to "meet" some amazing people via their blogs, my blog, or somebody else's blog. These meetings have reminded me, more often than not, of how many people of good will and good humor are out there. Most of the people I have met out there and over here on the web I will probably never meet in person.
But today I had the privilege of keeping an appointment with somebody who before I knew only via online exchanges. I met Jack. And I met his absolutely fabulous mother. And I met his charming niece (that's me with K in the picture; I am showing K the special victory pose reserved for winners; K is modeling my necklace).
Jack and I do not live TOO far from each other - although far enough that the get-together provided me with a day long excursion to another part of the Maryland-Virginia area where I had not been before.
We talked politics. But we also told stories about jobs and family. We noted movies we all liked. Jack explained his secret: if he opts for a piece of technology or a fledgling industry standard (as in going with HDTV only to have Blu-Ray carry the day in the high definition optical disc wars), his very choice actually causes the alternative to triumph. (Hmmm....just occurred to me that this MAY explain the sorry situation the Democratic Party is in...but, I digress.) Jack's mother made me laugh and made me think about some things in new lights. Jack summed up Geraldine Ferraro's strength when responding to hostile questions from reporters: when she answers "it is just snap snap" [picture the appropriate "snap snap" gesture, which Jack supplied.] We aired our opinions of how public schools treat their best teachers and other staff and our views of doctors and hospitals.
Basically, we just hung out and had fun. Something we would never have done were it not for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. So, Senator Clinton, thanks for bringing about this fine meeting. And thank you for bringing all sorts of people together, who are still working together, online and off, to make the Democratic Party and the United States better than ever.
And thanks, Jack and family, for your warm welcome and a fun day. It was real.
As for the rest of us, let's stay real and use our ties to fix the Democratic Party and support Senator Clinton by retiring the debt.
